LG to Roll Out Large Screen OLED HDTV Ahead of Sony

LG 31-inch OLED HDTV

After being locked in a struggle with Sony over which 3D technology is better for 3DTVs, LG has recently managed to steal the Japanese company's spotlight by announcing that it will be the first display maker to release a large screen OLED HDTV.

A high-ranking company official recently stated that the company would be moving its focus from small and medium sized OLED displays (as the ones used in tablets and smartphones) to large screen HDTVs over the course of 2012.

"We will make no more investment in the sector judging that the OLED business is relatively less profitable than other products in the mobile sector," said LG Display Chief Executive Officer, Kwon Young-soo, at an event in Korea.

The company's CEO then continued, “LGD[isplay] will launch a 55-inch OLED TV by the second half of next year.”

According to the LG official, the HDTVs will be launched in a limited range and will be showcased for the first time at the next edition of the Consumer Electronics Show, which will debut in January of 2012.

LG expects this TV to be priced at about $3,000 Australian dollars, which translates into about $3,255 US.

Outside of the diagonal, other technical specifications were not revealed, but LG says that is aiming for quality not quantity and that initial shipments will be running in the tens of thousands rather than a full-scale roll out. Depending on the consumer reaction, however, this could enter mass production.

Sony also made a similar claim about 18 months ago, after it released a 19-inch OLED monitor, but it hasn't delivered on its promise yet.

Building a large scale OLED display is difficult since quality is hard to sustain during manufacturing, some sources indicating that only one in eight panels makes it past quality control. (via SmartHouse)